I Won't Tell You I Love You
by Cantica10
Summary: All characters are human. Modern day. Emmeline's world is falling apart, but can a certain sadistic ?  Dr. Michaelis help her pull her life back together even when she's convinced there's no hope for her anymore?
1. I Hate You

**For those of you who have read the **_**Doctor wa**_** manga series, this will look incredibly familiar. I just thought, "How great would Bassy be in this?" and then I paired him with one of my OC's, Emmeline (see my fanfic **_**Of Demons and Dentists**_**), except for the fact that I altered her background for purpose of this fic. I hope you all enjoy it!**

I hated hospitals. I hated the way they smelled, always like rubbing alcohol, which also sort of reminds me of the dentist's office, another thing I despise. I hate the way everything is so depressingly white and bare, because apparently painting the walls pale yellow or pink would make the hospital less sanitary or something. I hated the way they sounded. Everyone always spoke in hushed voices, while children who were afraid to see the doctor whimpered and cried, people waiting impatiently tapped their toes in irritation, and other people groaned when their ailments stabbed at them. But mostly, I hated the way they felt. Tension always hung in the air, like someone down the hall had just died or something–even in the pediatric ward, where there were no long-stay patients.

Yes, I hated hospitals, even when I wasn't the one there to see a doctor.

My younger sister, six year-old Hannah, sat in my lap, sniffling and wiping at her nose with her sleeve, something I'd given up telling her not to do after the hundredth time I'd said it. She's what you would call "fragile". She was born a month and a half premature, and has always had a weak immune system. And since I, Emmeline Natsis, age seventeen, am a substitute for my busy parents, I have to take care of her ninety percent of the time. Ever since I got my driver's license, I've been taking her to the hospital what seems like countless times to get checked out. Whenever any sort of virus circulates around, she manages to catch it, and catch it hard.

She even _looks_ delicate. She's a tiny thing, thin as a rail. She has very pale skin, making her full lips seem incredibly red, and her cheeks today were rosy with fever. Her light colored eyes are blue on days when she isn't suffering from illness, but mostly just look stone gray. Her face has a childish round shape, but is still thinner than the average six year-old's. Her yellow hair is so thin that one could describe it as gossamer, and it falls in waves to her slender shoulders.

In contrast to her, I am of average build. By no means could I be described as fat or even a little chubby; but I'm certainly not stick-thin. My face is round and my skin is darker than Hannah's. If you chose to draw me with crayons, you'd have to choose "peach" for my skin color. I have emerald green eyes framed by abnormally long lashes and thick, straight chocolate-brown hair that extends slightly past my shoulder blades and has a slight curl to it at the end.

We are polar opposites in the appearance department, but one there is thing we have in absolute common; we both hate hospitals. And yet we come here, to the Henderson Graduate Medical School, only too often for my comfort. The one bright side, if you could consider it a bright side, is that there are some elite doctors who enroll here. And a lot of them are _very_ handsome.

I was so sick of this waiting room that when the receptionist called Hannah's name and told us which examination room to proceed to, it was welcome. Hannah whimpered and I sighed, scooping her up in my arms and brushing her slightly damp-with-sweat bangs out of her eyes. I carry her a lot, since she gets tired easily. The poor thing only weighs about sixty pounds. "It's okay," I assured her in the smooth, comforting tone I've perfected in the last six years of taking care of her, ignoring the puppy eyes she was giving me. "Let's go, Hannah."

We waited in Room 14 for a good ten minutes before a nurse with a clipboard came in, by which time Hannah, who had refused to let me put her on the examination table, had clamped her arms so tightly around my neck I was beginning to wonder if the crick she'd caused there would ever fade entirely. I had to coax her into releasing me and set her down, rubbing her back as the nurse took her pulse and temperature.

The nurse clicked her tongue when she looked at the result displayed on the thermometer. "101 degrees," she said, and ruffled Hannah's hair sympathetically. "Poor dear." She scribbled the temperature onto the clipboard and left the room, promising a doctor would be with us shortly.

I told Hannah a story for the next twenty minutes while we waited, inventing a tale about a dog and mouse who cross the grand canyon as I went. Amidst her sniffling and coughs, Hannah listened eagerly, gasping whenever the ridiculous duo I'd fabricated faced peril and laughing when they argued. Now that I think about it, maybe I should write children's books for a living. I'm pretty good at making up stories.

The pair had just narrowly escaped being crushed by an avalanche when the door opened and a man entered the room. I paused mid-sentence.

The doctor was new. I had never seen him before. But what made me sit there with my mouth hanging open like a complete idiot was that he was the most attractive person I've ever seen. Hollywood movie dream guys would have killed for this man's face. And every other part of him.

He was tall, definitely over six feet, with a slender build. His hair was black and shiny, cut in an odd manner so that his bangs, which hung at the side of his face, fell just past his chin. He had a thin face and luminous skin, with full, pouting lips and high cheekbones.

But his eyes! His eyes were slender and framed by thick lashes, and they were the color of lycoris flowers in full bloom. They had such depth to them, as though he'd seen things far beyond his years (although there was no way for me to tell his age).

My eyes flickered to the nametag on the lapel of his white doctor's coat, which read _Dr. Sebastian Michaelis._ Below that, in smaller letters, _MD, Pediatric Ward_.

His eyes slid past me and rested on Hannah. He smiled, not a friendly look but not hostile either, and greeted her. "Hello. You're Hannah?"

She bit her lip and buried her face in my sleeve. I sighed and patted her head, promising to finish telling her the story later. I looked up at the doctor and smiled apologetically. "Yes, this is Hannah," I confirmed, looking pointedly at a poster past his right shoulder to avoid staring at his perfect face.

Dr. Michaelis placed the clipboard cradled in his arm on the desk in the corner of the room and sat in the rolling chair there, pulling a pen out of his pocket. "What seems to be the problem?"

"She has a fever and she's been complaining about her throat being sore, and her nose is running all the time. The cough started about three hours ago," I listed Hannah's ailments in the order they'd arisen and he scribbled each one down onto the papers attached to his clipboard.

"Have you given her any medicine?"

I shook my head. "Uh-uh." That sounded really intelligent. I could have kicked myself. Where had my SAT Prep vocabulary wandered off to? Had it fled at the sight of this almost-too-hot-to-describe man?

He set down his pen and took the clipboard in hand as he turned his chair towards Hannah and me, perusing the list of her symptoms. "Well, it sounds as though she just has a cold. There's been one going arou – huh?" he paused, staring at something on his clipboard. "Natsis?" he asked. "The same as that ear, nose and throat doctor…"

I smiled, happier than I should have been that I got to speak to him about something other than my sick little sister. "Yes! My brother is a doctor at this hospital. You know him?"

Dr. Michaelis smiled again, but his red eyes weren't neutral this time. They shone with a sort of frigidness that made a shiver run down my spine. "Well, I know him because we work in the same hospital, but…I'm not good with those types. Actually…" his smile transformed into a smirk. "I hate them."

Next to me, Hannah gave a small gasp. For a first grader, "hate" is almost a swear word, especially the way my mom talks to her about it. (She gives the "We do not hate people in this household" lecture an average of once a week.)

My mouth hung open again. His candor shocked me enough, but why would he hate my brother? Mark is one of my favorite people on earth, not to mention the nicest person I've ever met. And what the hell was this whole "those types" thing he was talking about, anyway? I mean, what a jerk thing to say about someone you obviously don't even know!

I waited, suddenly irritable, as he scribbled out a prescription for Hannah, taking her in my arms again, prepared to stalk out of the room the second he put that slip of paper in my hands. And that's exactly what I did.

I would have stalked right out of the hospital if Hannah hadn't started crying the minute I shut the exam room's door behind me. Taken aback by her sudden meltdown, I set her on the floor and knelt next to her, rummaging around in the pocket of my sweater for a Kleenex to give her. There was one left.

"What happened, Hannah?" I asked, using the tissue to wipe the tears rolling down her flushed cheeks away. In addition to having fragile health, her emotions are also delicate. She's like a doll – breakable in every way possible.

"Did Brother get bullied?" she choked out, trying to rub her eyes with her sleeve. I took her hand and pressed the tissue into it instead, not wanting her sleeves, which she'd been using to wipe her nose all day, anywhere near her eyes.

"Dummy!" I shook my head, placing my hands on her shoulders comfortingly and waiting for her to recover, my irritation having vanished. "Of course not," I told her, then bit my lip, silently adding, _I think_.

"Huh? Emmeline? And Hannah…" A familiar voice came from a point behind my left shoulder, and I turned to see Mark making his way up the hall towards us. He grinned. "Just as I thought. What happened?"

I beamed at him, ecstatic to see a familiar, friendly face after that episode with Dr. Michaelis. "Brother!"

Mark is handsome as well, fitting in perfectly with the hospital's attractive doctors. He's just short of six feet tall and has black hair that reaches down to the nape of his neck when he lets it hang loose, but he keeps it in a ponytail when he's at work. He has porcelain skin a shade darker than Hannah's, and eyes the color of a summer sky. He's in the field of Otolaryngology, which is really just a fancy way to say that he's an ear, nose, and throat specialist. I usually refer to it as ENT, since the name is long and confusing. (It took him twenty minutes to teach me how to pronounce it correctly.)

"Hannah had a fever, so I took her to the hospital," I told him as he stopped next to me. Hannah had stopped crying at the sight of Mark, but tears still lingered on her cheeks.

He lifted Hannah up into his arms in that incredible big-brother fashion of his and smiled. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?" he asked her, brushing the tears still on her face away.

I stood up and dusted off the knees of my jeans, out of habit than necessity. These hospital floors are so clean you could eat off of them. "I guess the doctor _was_ kind of scary," I sighed.

Mark's expression darkened slightly, enough so that I would notice it but Hannah wouldn't. "The pediatric department…Dr. Michaelis…."

"He said he didn't like you," I informed him, deciding not to spare his feelings. If someone had a problem with Mark, he typically found a way to fix it, which is why he is probably one of the most least-disliked people in the world.

Mark stared at me with wide eyes. This was obviously shocking news to him. "What? _Really_?" He looked startled for another moment or two before he recovered, sighing and shaking his head. "Well…that doctor is quite strange."

"Oh, so I'm strange. That's what it is, huh?" Dr. Michaelis asked, coming up behind Mark with no warning. That despicable smile of his was on his lips again. I wanted to slap it off his face.

Mark startled and frantically began to apologize. That's my brother for you, always trying to make everybody like him. "I'm sorry! Uh–!"

"I don't mind," Dr. Michaelis said. His eyes met mine and he smirked at the hatred in my expression before setting off down the hall. "That is how I am."

After that happened, Mark told me about Dr. Michaelis from the pediatrics department. The nurses who work with him gave him a nickname – "Dr. S". What does the S stand for? Sadist. I knew he was a jerk. Apparently, he gets amused when he makes nurses and patients cry.

I suppose that I should explain the relationship I have with my siblings. I'm not fully related to either of them. Mark is my stepbrother and Hannah is my half-sister.

When I was three, my dad walked out on my mom. She doesn't know why and I don't know why. I haven't seen him since, because he gave my mother everything she wanted in the divorce, including full custody of me. The only connection I have to him is the child support that comes in the mail every month and a card with fifty bucks in it every year on my birthday.

When I was nine, my mom married a widower who adopted me as his daughter with the last name "Natsis". I switched my name to it along with my mother, since the name I was born with, Amison, held no meaning to me. Besides, I liked the sound of Emmeline Natsis better than Emmeline Amison. Hannah came along two years later, when I was eleven.

When she was born, Mark went off to med school and my parents pretty much stopped taking care of me. Mark was always supportive of my efforts, and has always been kind and caring; exactly how I'd always imagined an older brother should be. And, since I had his support, I could never bring myself to resent my parents for not doing the same.

I stood at the front door of Mark's apartment building, shivering in the cold, a few days later. I had a bag of food in hand, which was heavy enough that I kept having to switch arms to hold it when my muscles grew sore. I spend most of the free time I have at Mark's place. Tonight, for example, I was going to cook dinner and we were going to watch a movie he'd rented.

I adjusted my jacket, watching my breath as it turned to fog. It was freezing. _Damn, he's late_, I griped to myself, cursing the fact that I hadn't worn gloves. _He knows that I was coming today._

I leaned against the icy brick wall and shut my eyes. Winter is the worst season of the year by far.

I jolted when I heard footsteps approaching. Beaming, I turned around, expecting to see Mark, apologetic for his tardiness. "Brother–!"

I froze. _Dr. Michaelis?_

He looked different out of uniform, wearing a white T-shirt and a long black trench coat that hung open. He paused and looked at me, and I thought I saw recognition in his eyes. Without a word or even a flicker of emotion, he walked past me, pulled open the door of the apartment building, and disappeared inside.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and the swirls of fog I'd created with it streamed into nothing. _Oh…so he was just a neighbor. I didn't know he lived here._ I sighed and held my head. Maybe I was wrong and he hadn't recognized me. After all, doctors can't remember all of their patients. And I wasn't even a patient. I was the older sister of one.

I slid to the ground, curling my knees into my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I waited another five minutes. _Mark is really late…_

Fifteen minutes. My stomach grumbled, complaining at me. _And I'm hungry…_

Twenty minutes. I sneezed, the cold air tickling my nose. _Where is he?_

The door opened again and I caught the pungent stench of cigarette smoke. "Hey."

I looked up. Dr. Michaelis stood in the threshold, a lit cigarette in his mouth. "Your brother," he said to me, smiling, "said he was going to be really late."

I was so shocked that I forgot to be mad for a moment. Because the smile he wore now had some emotion. Amusement. I couldn't translate that, and I didn't have time to before he shut the door, leaving me alone in the cold again.

That's when the anger inundated my every sense. _What the hell? If he knew, he should have told me earlier!_ Muttering curses under my breath, I zipped my jacket up as high as it would go and buried my hands in my pockets, realizing with dismay that my teeth and fists were clenched with frustration. I slowly uncurled my fingers and tried to relax my jaw. What was wrong with me? Dr. Michaelis was a jerk, that was all there was to it. He shouldn't have made me this mad.

I rubbed my temples as the world began to blur in and out of focus. _I'm starting to get dizzy…_

I opened my eyes, disoriented. I was laying down somewhere, and it was warm, but I couldn't remember having gone anywhere. I was in front of Mark's apartment building, or should have been, at least. It was the last thing I remembered. That and getting a little dizzy.

There was something covering me, a blanket. And why the hell did it smell like smoke? Where was I?

I blinked as the ceiling came into focus. White. What a dull color. I glanced around, or started to, because my eyes came to a halt on the first thing I saw.

Dr. Michaelis, smoking a cigarette.

I bolted into a sitting position, the blanket falling off of me, and the room spun violently. Ignoring that, I yelped, "Dr. Michaelis? Why?" I couldn't think of anything more to ask because it seemed to be an appropriate question to ask to cover all the other questions running through my head.

I was on his couch in his apartment; that much was abundantly clear. He was sitting on the floor near my feet, leaning against the couch and smoking. An open book rested on his lap. Unfazed, he looked at me and replied, "Why? Because you fainted in front of the door, so I picked you up. I didn't want you to freeze to death in front of the building. Imagine what a nuisance that would have been."

Yes, it was an insult, but what he had done had actually been incredibly kind. Still, I really didn't want to stay there with him. The man made me nervous as hell. I rapidly got off his couch and went to the door, where the bag of food I'd brought sat waiting for me. "I'll come back another time to say thank you. Sorry for bothering you," I called back, reaching for the door.

I had just wrapped my fingers around the handle when he said, 'You shouldn't go."

I froze. Damn, what was I supposed to do? I turned around, not removing my fingers from the door handle.

He smirked and stood up, crossing his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't go to Dr. Natsis's now. His girlfriend is there."

_Mark has a girlfriend?_ "But I promised him I'd go," I protested, and even I could tell that my voice didn't sound very convincing.

Dr. Michaelis came closer to me and leaned down so his lips were right against my left ear. "Even though you're a kid, you should know what a guy and a girl do in a room."

What should I do? I mean, I'd never had anything like this happen to me before! Oh my god! If Mark really did have a girlfriend, and she was over at his apartment… I never thought about him having a love life before. He was _Mark_, for Christ's sakes! And what the hell was Dr. Michaelis doing, with his lips against my ear like that?

In the end, all I could manage with the jumbled mess that was my mind was a feeble, "What…?"

Dr. Michaelis looked me in the eyes, his shining with a sort of seductive quality. "If you don't know…I can teach you." He slowly cupped my chin in his fingers and tilted my face towards his, leaning in until I could feel his breath.

_HE'S GOING TO KISS ME!_

I slapped him with as much force as I could muster, and my hand throbbed. "What are you doing?" I screamed at him, furious and horribly, horribly embarrassed all at once. "Stupid!"

The red mark on his cheek was my only compensation as he smirked teasingly and said, "Just kidding."

I flung open the door and stormed out before I could start thinking of ways I could kill him and not get caught, slamming it shut behind me. I stalked towards Mark's door- I couldn't _believe_ that asshole lived only thirty feet away from Mark – and stopped.

Dr. Michaelis's voice rang in my ears. _You shouldn't go to Dr. Natsis's now. His girlfriend is there._

In the end, I stared at Mark's door with tears in my eyes for a solid ten minutes before I turned around and left, more confused than I'd ever been in my whole life.

"I'm home," I called wearily, slipping out of my shoes before heading further into my house.

"You're so late!" My mother scolded me as I passed her on my way to the kitchen. She sat at the dining room table, which was covered with brochures and lists of phone numbers. Being a real estate agent is my mother's calling, and she lives, breathes, and lives it. "Where were you? You should have been taking care of your sick sister!"

I sighed, not up to dealing with this now. "No, I'm early," I said, opening the refrigerator and beginning to load the food I had brought to Mark's into it. "I _told_ you I was going to Mark's." I shut the door with more force than was probably necessary and stalked back past her, heading to my room. "I'm going to sleep. Good night."

As I entered my room I heard my mother call in her most dangerous scolding tone, "Emmeline!"

I slammed my door shut.

My dreams were nightmares.

**What's up with him?**

_Dr. Michaelis came closer to me and leaned down so his lips were right against my left ear. "Even though you're a kid, you should know what a guy and a girl do in a room."_

**I hate mean people like that!**

_He slowly cupped my chin in his fingers and tilted my face towards his, leaning in until I could feel his breath._

I awoke with a start, covered in a thin veneer of sweat. I groaned. _It's hot…_

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair, also damp with sweat. That could only mean one thing. _I guess I have a fever._

I rolled out of bed and yawned, rubbing my stiff neck before going to look for my mother. I found her kneeling on the floor in the living room with Hannah hugging her. "Mom, I'm not going to school today. I'm – "

"Emmeline!" she interrupted me urgently. "Hannah's fever is getting worse! Can you take her to the hospital? Your father and I can't do it because of work."

She hadn't been listening to a word I said. She didn't care what I had to say. She didn't care if I was sick. She probably wouldn't have cared if I was dying. She was worried for Hannah, her golden child, Hannah, who always got far more attention than she had ever given to me. In that instant, I hated my mother. I wanted to explode at her and scream exactly how her neglect has made me feel for the past six years, how I would have gone crazy if I hadn't been given support from Mark, and how horrible she was for making me do all the parenting that Hannah required while she just came home at night and showered her newest, favorite child with more love and attention than I ever got.

I wanted her to go to Hell.

Instead, I nodded and turned back towards my room to go get dressed.

I was mortified when we – we being a nurse, Hannah, and myself – walked into the examination room and Dr. Michaelis was already sitting at the desk. His cheek was still red from my vicious slap and as he saw me his eyes flickered with surprise. "Miss Natsis."

_Damn!_ I stared at him, suddenly tongue tied, and stammered, "But- but that was your fault!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked coolly, looking me over. For some reason, I felt violated. I squirmed, uncomfortable beneath his gaze.

He smirked. "I can tell by looking at you that you also have a fever. I'll check you, too."

I think my heart skipped a beat and I blushed furiously. "No, it's okay!" I said quickly.

He didn't bat an eyelash. "Oh, that's too bad." He turned to the nurse and said briskly. "Go prepare the shots."

"Shots?" Hannah whimpered as the nurse left, and I took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. _Too bad?_ I thought, confused as hell that I found that completely irritating.

"Hey, don't cry, okay?" I pleaded with Hannah twenty minutes later as she bawled into my shoulder. "I'll play with you later," I promised, desperately trying to cheer her up. Her right shoulder must have felt abused. The poor kid had just gotten three needles in her arm. "Okay, then. Thank you so much," I said to the nurse, leaving the room.

As I was walking down the hall, I heard the nurse say, "Doctor… your face… it wasn't a cat, right?"

I heard him snicker. "Well…making fun of a cute cat is amusing, too."

The nurse came out of the room and I could swear I heard Dr. Michaelis humming as I walked down the hall, Hannah still hiccupping and crying in my arms.

I swore colorfully under my breath as I rummaged through the cabinets in the bathroom. I was burning up, and my head was throbbing. I wanted a painkiller and a sleeping pill that would knock me out and offer a respite from my recently cruel and confusing as hell reality. "The medicine has _got _to be in here somewhere!" I growled, slamming a bottle of mouthwash down next to me in my irritation and receiving minimal satisfaction at the loud noise it made.

"Emmeline," my mother hissed, hurrying into the bathroom. "Hannah finally went to sleep, so keep the noise _down_!"

I almost blew up at her. But I knew I would have gotten hell for that, so instead a put the bottles and such away, being pointedly silent, before I stood up and said through clenched teeth, "I left something at Mark's house, so I'll be going. I'll sleep there tonight."

My phone beeped at me and I flipped it open, reading the text Mark had just sent my way. "Go on up and wait for me at my door," it said. "I'll be there in five minutes."

I grinned and hitched my bag of clothes further up my shoulder. Finally, I would get some sympathy and some Tylenol. Going to Mark's was the best idea ever.

I hummed on the elevator as it slowly rose to the eighth floor, and when the doors slid open I all but skipped out, heading for Mark's door.

The only problem was that there was already someone there. A tall, slender girl with long, wavy, blonde hair. She was gorgeous. She was radiant. And she looked eager.

And she _had a key_.

She was putting it in the lock and turning it, and then she opened the door and slipped inside. It clicked shut behind her. It was the most depressing sound in the world to me. I was so jealous of her. Why had Mark given his girlfriend a key and not me? I was over there so often that I knew it better than I knew my own house! It was my real home because it was the only place I could feel safe, happy. My sanctuary.

And it looked like I didn't have it anymore. His girlfriend had just gone inside like it was her right. I had never been able to do that. Didn't I deserve that more than her? Why was everything so messed up?

I heard the elevator door ding and slide open. I turned around, expecting Mark, but got a face full of cigarette smoke instead, and Dr. Michaelis was staring at me in shock.

I hadn't realized I'd been crying until I started yelling at him. "Why are you here? Is the pediatrics department not busy?" I sobbed.

It had finally happened. Everything bottled up inside me had gotten so great that some of my feelings had turned to tears to escape. And crying only made me feel worse.

Everything.

Was.

Falling.

Apart.

"Here. Medicine and water. You haven't taken anything yet, right?" Dr. Michaelis said, handing me the glass and pills before sitting down on the couch next to me. Right next to me. He was so close that our legs were touching. There was an entire half a couch he could have occupied instead; why on earth had he chosen to sit as close to me as possible?

I stared at the water in the glass. "So you're not going to ask me anything?"

"Well, I've got most of the story. Your brother's girlfriend was at his house…and you were shocked, right?"

I said nothing, and I felt the hot tears welling up in my eyes. When I felt his hand over mine, I jolted, but he didn't remove it, guiding the glass to my lips. "Take the pills," he said to me, a tone of authority to his voice. I did, and felt his eyes on me as he watched. He didn't speak again until I had finished the entire glass and set it down on his coffee table.

Smirking, he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and pulled one out, bringing it his lips. "But your feelings towards Dr. Natsis aren't love."

I was appalled for a moment, and it took my brain a few seconds to recover. "How would you know?" I asked, feeling that same anger I always got around him flare up inside my chest. And he never got mad or anything. The passive expression on his face as he lit his cigarette was unnerving!

"I do," he said simply, placing the box of cigarettes on the coffee table and inhaling deeply on his. I held my breath. Seriously, this guy's a doctor and yet he smokes like a chimney over a wooden fire. And not like I could tell him to not do that around me, please, since it's his house and all. But I was really not interested in breathing his second-hand lung cancer in a stick. "Your sister was born after your parents remarried, right?" he asked, eyeing me with an almost infuriating sort of interest. Or lack of such.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. I didn't want him to analyze my feelings, my past, or any other part of me. I just wanted to get hit in the head and get amnesia from it.

Yeah. That'd solve aaaaallllll my problems.

"When your parents were busy taking care of your newborn sister, your brother, Dr. Natsis, was always nice to you," Dr. Michaelis continued, taking my silence as confirmation of his question. "Isn't that it? You were just lonely." He leaned in close to me and whispered, "That's not love."

Tears were already spilling out of my eyes and I felt like my head was about to explode. I didn't think it was possible for me to feel any worse than I did now. But of course, Dr. Michaelis just had to prove me wrong.

"Because," he smirked, like he was having the time of his life making me cry. And he probably was. "Have you ever wished to have sex with your brother?"

I gasped and a sob escaped my lips before I broke down entirely. He was such a jerk! Why did I even agree to come here? I should have just turned around and gone home, no matter how mad my mother was making me.

"I hate you!" I choked out through my tears, hiccupping so violently my chest was starting to hurt. Of all the people I wished would disappear, he was top of the list. I wanted him to leave me alone. I wanted him to act like I was just another patient's sister. I wanted him to act like I meant nothing to him.

And at the same time I wanted him to do this to me, too. I deserved this emotional torment. I hated my own mother. I was beginning to resent my younger sister. And I was jealous of my brother's girlfriend, who was more attached to him – both physically and emotionally – than I could ever be.

I was a terrible person.

Dr. Michaelis wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him, blubbery mess and all. "Well…" he said quietly, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I like that better than 'I love you'."

"You're so…twisted," I muttered, trying to wriggle away from him, and to no prevail. If anything, he held me tighter.

"That's what most people say," he informed me. He was still smiling, but at least he didn't sound smug anymore. Bastard. "I used to own a dog."

Wow. Random, much? Because it was so important that I hear about some dog he used to own. I wouldn't be able to live my life without knowing that _he had a dog_.

"It was very cute. And then, I put so many layers of blankets over it while it was sleeping…that it died of suffocation."

My eyes widened. I mean, he freaking killed a dog? For real?

Twisted.

I rubbed my eyes, but tears still poured out of them. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, feeling my eyelids start to droop.

And he hugged me. He hugged me and didn't let go. And for the first time in what seemed like an interminably long time, I felt…like…well, I don't know. Like I was being cared for. Like it wasn't only me who cared about me anymore. Like…someone couldn't stand to see me so distressed that I was having a nervous, emotional breakdown. "The pills are starting to work, right?" he asked softly, laying me down on the couch. "Now… go to sleep."

I didn't want him to let me go.

I regained a sort of consciousness when he arranged a blanket over me. He had a newspaper tucked under his arm, and he sat down on the floor at my feet, much like he had yesterday when he'd brought me up here after I'd fainted, and I felt like I had to say something. "Doctor…?"

He raised an eyebrow and turned his head, looking at me. I had his full attention – something else I never got at home.

"Just so you know…I don't think that dog has a grudge against you. To be honest…I think it's happy that you loved it so much."

His eyes glimmered with shock as my words clunked into place in his brain. Then he smiled. "Good night."

The corners of my lips twitched as I shut my eyes. _Just now, I think… that he smiled at me with almost…_gentle_ eyes._

And it made my heart beat faster in my dreams.

God, what was that annoying noise? I was trying to sleep!

Oh, wait. Crap. That was my phone – embarrassingly blaring the _Teen Titans_ theme song for Dr. Michaelis to hear. Wonderful.

I sighed and looked around for my phone. It was sitting on the coffee table.

Dr. Michaelis came into the room, his black hair dripping with beads of water and a towel draped over his shoulders, obvious symptoms of having just gotten out of the shower. "Oh, are you awake? Your cell phone's been ringing constantly."

I sat up and reached for my phone. As I did, three layers of blankets fell off of me, the top one thicker than the other two. I blushed and stifled a giggle. _I think… I think I was having a really good dream._

It was my mom. I flipped my phone open and pressed it to my ear. "Hello? Mom?"

She was mad, and not because I hadn't called her to tell her I was safe. She was mad because I'd left Hannah. She's Hannah's freaking mom, not me! How is taking care of her all the time my responsibility?

"Sorry," I apologized blandly. "I'm…uh…"

She kept yelling at me, and what she said chilled my blood and made me feel like a complete and total jerk.

"What? Hannah?" I yelped, getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Yes. I was a horrible, terrible, awful person. And I deserved everything that was happening to me.

I rushed past Dr. Michaelis, coat on and bag in hand. "I'm really sorry! I have to go home!" I explained frantically ("I'm sorry, I have to go," she says nebulously. God, I'm such a cliché).

He thrust his arm out and stopped me in my tracks, pulling me into him. "Calm down," he said scoldingly, and I almost felt really bad about trying to leave. Until I remembered why I had to get the hell out of there. "You still have a fever," he reminded me, and then leaned over so that he could look me in the eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, and I felt his hand on my palm before he intertwined his fingers with mine. "What happened?"

I stepped away from him, about to start crying again, and he didn't release my hand. "Hannah is gone," I managed to choke out around the lump that seemed to be permanently lodged in my throat. "Because…I didn't take care of her properly."

He dropped my hand and reached for his coat. "Okay," he said, slinging it around his shoulders. "We'll find her faster if we both search."

As I stared at him and realized what he was offering, I almost had another emotional meltdown. _Doctor…_

We were the only two people on the street as we walked, my frantic calls of "Hannah!" the only sound. It was all I could do to keep a steady pace, because when I tried to run – all fourteen times that I tried to run – Dr. Michaelis would grab my hand and force me to slow back down to a walk, chastising me for trying to overdo it when I was ill.

Well, I could guarantee I'd feel a lot sicker if anything happened to Hannah.

I held my head, having an internal war with myself. One part of me was screaming that I was such an awful person for letting this happen that I deserved any and all misfortune that befell me from here on out. The other half was telling the first part of me, and just as loudly, that it wasn't my fault that I couldn't play parent, spending all my time with Hannah, and be a high school senior both without something having to give.

In all honesty, I _had_ chosen Hannah over school. I was pulling abysmal grades at the moment because I was never doing my homework. I was all about making Hannah happy. What more could I have done? This wasn't my fault.

Oh, god. The realization hit me like a bus and I almost threw up. Yes, it was. It was completely my fault, and I knew exactly how. "I promised Hannah I'd play with her today," I whispered, feeling sick to my stomach.

Dr. Michaelis looked back at me and eyed me skeptically-I couldn't have been looking too good right then; I was probably turning green – but he ignored my condition and asked, "Do you have any guesses? Like places you two usually go."

It didn't take me long to think that one over. My hand flew to my mouth in horror. "The park!"

I was furious that he still wouldn't let me run, but we did pick up the pace as we made our way to the park. Oh, god. As if the gangs of the city who occasionally visited the park to graffiti every available surface weren't enough, the playground was a death trap in itself. The jungle gym alone was twelve feet tall, and that was the average height of the rest of the park's play structures. If someone as fragile as Hannah fell off one of those…

I didn't want to think about it.

Hannah was on top of the jungle gym, and she appeared to be sleeping. My worst fears come to life. "Hannah!" I cried out, almost hysterical.

"Shh!" Dr. Michaelis hissed. "She's sleeping. If you make loud noises, she might be surprised and get into danger."

Damn, it was a good thing he'd come with me. He was the logic in this recon mission. I was just the frazzled idiot who got us into this mess in the first place.

A smile slowly made its way across his lips. "The jungle gym…" he said, beginning to shrug his coat off. "I wonder how many years it's been since I've been on that." I realized then what he intended to do.

"Doctor," I said firmly, knowing I would not let myself be swayed on this matter. "_I'm_ going up there to get her. If we both fall…make sure you save Hannah."

He froze for a moment, staring at me in shock, and then smiled in understanding. "All right."

Without thinking about how flipping _terrified_ I am of heights, I started to climb. _It's okay,_ I assured myself, not trying to think too far ahead. Just deal one bar at a time… like climbing a ladder. _Even if we both fall, Doctor will save Hannah._

I got to the top and reached for Hannah's thin shoulder, lightly shaking her awake. "Hannah," I said softly. "Wake up. Are you okay?"

She stirred and her eyelashes fluttered. When she saw me her face lit up and she bolted into a sitting position. "Emma!"

"Don't get up!" I said quickly, my heart pounding from watching her rapid ascension. It had scared the bajeezus out of me.

She giggled and reached out to tug on my sleeve. "Emma, let's play!" she said eagerly. How could I have ever resented her? I'm her favorite person in the world.

"Sure," I said, smiling rather forcedly. My nerves were on edge. "We can play just as soon as we get down from here."

She immediately began to inch her way towards the edge of the jungle gym towards me, and I waited with baited breath until she was holding onto the bar next to me. We began to climb down.

And suddenly, she wasn't next to me anymore. Her hands slipped off the bar and she fell. "Hannah!" I screamed, thinking for a moment that my heart was going to explode.

Dr. Michaelis caught her easily, and I breathed a sigh of relief before realizing that I was shaking. He smiled. "Quite clumsy, huh?" He set Hannah down next to him. Well…" he turned back to me and stretched out his arms. "It's your turn."

Was he crazy? No way was I flinging myself off this thing purely because he might catch me. I was considerably heavier than my little sister, too. "I'm fine!"

I made it down two more rails before my foot slipped and I went flying. "Doctor, watch out!" I yelled, afraid that I might crush him.

But he caught me too. I landed perfectly in his outstretched arms, and it was so amazing that it should belong in a movie. His arms were perfect. It was like they were made for the purpose of saving me like this. For keeping me in line. For hugging me. For comforting me.

Perfect for everything, really.

"I told you to go away!" I complained, blushing deeply. "I said I'd be fine!"

He smiled. "This one's clumsy too."

My heart skipped a beat. "L-let's go home," I stammered, since I had made such a complete and utter fool out of myself that the only thing left for us to do was get Hannah home and call it a happily ever after.

Dr. Michaelis carried Hannah and I walked as close to him as I could, basically using him to steady myself when my knees wobbled. I was a wreck.

Halfway back to my house, two figures appeared on the street, coming towards us. "Hannah!" my mom shrieked, racing towards us. Mark was close behind her, looking completely baffled. "Dr. Michaelis?" he exclaimed, his eyes darting from me to the doctor and back to me again.

Mom rushed forward and took Hannah from Dr. Michaelis, asking frantically, "Where were you?"

"I was playing with Emma!" Hannah informed her proudly, seeing nothing wrong with her actions. She was very pleased with herself, in fact.

"Sorry, Mom," I apologized, sincerely this time. "I promised Hannah I'd play with her, but I forgot…"

"Emmeline!" my mother exclaimed, using her horrid scolding tone. "You're such a bad girl!"

Ouch. I knew my mother was the queen of caustic remarks, but that one went deep.

I stared at my feet. I couldn't say anything to her that would make her listen anymore. I just had to take whatever she threw at me and live with it. Besides…I deserved this. I deserved all of it.

"Mom!" Mark breathed. Even he was taken aback by the way our mother was speaking to me. But if he was ever around at our house, he'd know that this wasn't too far from the normal way she spoke to me nowadays.

Dr. Michaelis suddenly moved forward, standing between me and my mother like he was trying to shield me. "Please don't blame her," he said, looking back at me and smiling. "She's a good sister to Hannah and has a gentle heart."

Unexpected. Unexpected and completely appreciated. And right then and there, I knew. I knew from that moment on. I was completely and totally

His.

Mom stared at him blankly for a while, and then thanked him for his help. Mark grinned apologetically and held up his car keys. "Dr. Michaelis, sorry for the trouble. I'll give you a ride back to your apartment."

"Thank you."

My brother and the guy I'd just decided I officially liked set off down the street. And I almost spaced before I remembered what I had to say. "Dr. Michaelis!" I called suddenly. He turned around. "Thank you!" I said quickly, and then retreated, blushing like crazy.

I wasn't far enough that I couldn't hear Mark and Dr. Michaelis's conversation. "She's really nice, isn't she?" Mark asked. I could tell he was grinning.

I heard Dr. Michaelis respond, "I'm sorry. I forgot something."

I had no idea what on earth he could have forgotten, when I heard someone come up behind me and grab my wrist. I turned around rapidly, and Dr. Michaelis pulled me straight into his arms and kissed me. Nothing more than a simple lips to lips touch.

And yet it meant the world to me.

He pulled away and rested his forehead on mine, smiling slyly. "I didn't receive a thank you gift," he murmured before releasing me and walking shamelessly back towards Mark.

I stood there like an idiot, drowning in my own infatuation. My mom, who had missed the kiss, looked curiously at me. "Emmeline? What happened?"

I was blushing more deeply than I had ever blushed in my life. "Uh…nothing!" I said hurriedly, afraid I was about to have a heart attack.

I watched Dr. Michaelis walk up to Mark. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Mark, who had witnessed our kiss and looked thoroughly freaked out, just nodded and led him away.

It was the first time I'd ever come to this building without the intention of seeing my brother.

Dr. Michaelis opened the door to his apartment, looking shocked to see me standing there. "Hm? Your brother's room is next door."

Oh…well, this was awkward, then. Had he honestly not been expecting me to come over? What was it with him, kiss and forget? "Um…I just…I mean…uh…"I babbled like an idiot, trying to come up with an excuse for why I'd come to see him instead of Mark.

He smiled and opened the door wider, standing aside. "Just kidding."

I blushed and stepped into his apartment. "You're so mean!" I muttered, dropping my purse on the floor at my feet and unwrapping my scarf.

Dr. Michaelis took my hands and leaned in to kiss me. "But you like me, right?"

I sighed as he pressed his lips against mine. _Such a mean and twisted Dr. S…_

He pulled away and smirked.

"I hate you," I told him teasingly.

His smirk turned into a grin. "Very well, then. If you say so," he said, and leaned in to kiss me again. I love his kisses. I love his embrace.

But I won't tell him I love him.

**I loved doing this. So much fun! And now, dear readers, I am going to beg you for your reviews like humble fanfic writers like myself all over do on 99 percent of their stories. I love each and every one! No joke. Chapter two will be posted shortly, and I am just as excited about it as I was for this one! I hope you will be, too!**


	2. There's Really No Reason

**Back again with part two! Bassy is slightly OOC, sadly, but I don't think its **_**too**_** far out there (Nervous laugh). Be warned; Bassy gets a dog. I'll say it again. He gets a DOG. I found it ironic and mildly hilarious, myself...**

**Enjoy!**

Back at the hospital again. I still hate it, still hate the smell, still hate the sound, still hate the look, and still hate the feeling of it. But, there's one thing that make makes taking Hannah to the hospital now entirely worth it.

Henderson Graduate Medical School Hospital pediatrician, Dr. Michaelis. It's been two months since I came to the realization that I really liked him, and ever since then my life has gotten _so_ much better.

I'm actually pulling good grades now. Bless his soul; when he found out how badly I was doing in school he almost blew up at me. Now, after school when I pick up Hannah, if Dr. Michaelis isn't working, we go to the apartment building my brother and Dr. Michaelis both live in. On days Mark can watch Hannah, Dr. Michaelis tutors me. On days Hannah has to come to Dr. Michaelis's place with me, he watches her and lets me get my homework done.

More than that, after that whole incident when Hannah ran away and we found her at the park when Dr. Michaelis defended me against my mother's irrational disdain for me, she's backed off. I can actually enjoy being at my house now, not having to worry that she'll nag me to play with Hannah or help with Hannah or watch Hannah. She's stepped up the parenting a bit, giving me time to breathe now. Which lets me do my schoolwork on days Dr. Michaelis is working.

And, of course, I spend every minute I can with Dr. Michaelis. It's like he was specifically designed for me. His arms fit around me perfectly. Our lips fit together perfectly. He knows when I need some space and when I need him to hug me because I'm having a _really_ bad day. I feel like I'm living in a romance novel when I'm with him. Like my life is one of those chick flicks. And I am totally okay with that.

But I refuse to tell him I love him.

I was still absorbed with replaying the looks on my teachers' faces as of late as my grades climbed from D's to B's – I had actually gotten enough extra credit in two of my classes to achieve low A's – when the receptionist called Hannah's name. I grinned, knowing I'd be seeing Dr. Michaelis in just a moment. "Let's go, Hannah."

"Okay!" Hannah beamed. She was almost more excited to see him than I was. She insisted on walking into the room, refusing when I tried to carry her, her eyes shining with anticipation. She really likes Dr. Michaelis, something I would have never thought possible two months ago when we first met him. Actually, I had been convinced I would always hate him two months ago as well. How wrong I had been.

As we reached the door of exam room six, a nurse bolted out of the door and down the hall. My gut wrenched as I heard her choked sobs and saw a tear trickle down her cheek. With a heavy sigh, I ushered Hannah into the room.

Dr. Michaelis was sitting at the desk, clipboard in hand. He was so damn sexy, dressed for work, in a long white coat with a stethoscope draped around his neck. He already was smirking, and I could tell he was pleased with himself. "Doctor," I sighed, sitting down in a chair across from the examination table.

His gaze slid from his clipboard to me, and his eyes shone. "What is it?" he asked, like he didn't know what I found so dismaying.

I rolled my eyes and indicated the door. "Just now, that nurse ran out crying," I informed him indignantly, wondering what on earth it was he had said this time. I think he measures the success of a day by how many people he makes cry. It's infuriating, really, but at the same time it's one of the things I really like about him. It's kind of entertaining.

He shook his head and set the clipboard down. "It's troublesome that nurses cry so easily these days," he muttered, turning in his chair to look at the door. Then he smiled, trying to look innocent. "It looks like I made them cry," he chuckled.

I rubbed my temples. He has _such _a bad personality and is so _mean_. It's really no wonder the nurses gave him the nickname "Dr. S". I ask myself why I like him every day, and I always tell myself that he's really a kind person at heart, and he likes Hannah. I mean, who doesn't like Hannah? But on the surface… he's really just a jerk.

Dr. Michaelis leaned over his crossed legs so his eyes were level with Hannah's. "Today I'm giving you a vaccination shot," he told her, and I was amused by the shock in his eyes when Hannah didn't start to whimper. "Will you be all right?"

Hannah beamed and nodded. "Yep!" She's really taken all the fun out of this entire thing for him, since she's not afraid of him anymore. "If I don't cry, will you play with me?" she asked, shameless. A true child.

"Hannah!" I exclaimed, blushing furiously. Count on my little sister to pull something like this. "The doctor's busy, and-"

"It's fine," Dr. Michaelis interrupted me, smirking as he looked at my red cheeks. I also had my _what?_ Expression on, but that's not uncommon. He startles me in a new way every day. He turned back to Hannah and said quietly, like it was a secret, "This Sunday, come over to my place. But don't tell the other kids."

Hannah nodded, her expression now one of utter seriousness. "Okay, I won't tell anyone." Her eyes slid over to me, and then she begged him, "But can I tell Emma? I can't go by myself, so I'll go with Emma!"

Dr. Michaelis smiled and rested his chin in his hand, his elbow propped on the desk as he threw a not-so-subtle glance at me. "Well…only if Emma _really_ wants to come."

Ugh. I stared at my shoes for a moment, trying to think of something intelligent to say, some sort of snappy remark that didn't involve swearing, because most of my comebacks consisted of words I really didn't want Hannah to hear. Finally I gave up and mumbled, "You have such a terrible personality!"

He chuckled. "But you still like me, don't you?" he asked, and with the way he was looking at me, I knew that if we hadn't been here at the hospital and he hadn't been working, he would have kissed me right then and there. I wish he had, anyway.

So…yes. My name is Emmeline Natsis. I am seventeen years old. It's frustrating, but I do like him. I like him a lot.

"If Hannah wants to go, no matter what, I'll take her," I said, trying to sound irritated with him. I didn't want him to think that I was that eager to come over. In all actuality, part of me was leaping in joy screaming YES! But it's not like I wanted him to know that.

He smirked and raised an eyebrow, inclining his head towards Hannah. "Careful. Hannah's going to cry if you keep talking," he said smugly, thoroughly enjoying my resentment.

I looked at Hannah and realized what my words must have sounded like to her. Damn, I was such an idiot. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she stared at me in misery. "Oh, Hannah, I'm sorry!" I apologized quickly, kneeling down and throwing my arms around her. "I didn't mean it like that!"

Sunday came and I almost had a heart attack in excitement. I had been over to Dr. Michaelis's place before, of course, but this was the first time he had extended an invitation to me to come. So, it just felt…different. I even planned what I was going to wear – a pink tank top, black sweater, and jeans capris. It was the most I'd ever put into planning an outfit, including the thought I'd put into my dresses for my high school's dances. I was seriously into this guy.

The first thing that happened when Dr. Michaelis opened the door for us was that I was knocked off my feet by a dog that barreled into my legs, his eyes shining with intense excitement. After the initial shock had worn off, I sat up and started marveling at the puppy, a black and white shiba inu, along with Hannah. "Wow!" I exclaimed, laughing as the dog tried to lick my face. "He's so cute! How did you get him, Doctor?"

Hannah looked just as eager for the answer, more infatuated with the dog than I was. But of course, with Dr. Michaelis standing in the doorframe of his kitchen, a smug smirk creeping across his lips, how could I not be distracted? "They were looking for an owner, and I took him in," Dr. Michaelis explained simply, moving away from the door. "I kind of felt like keeping it." Apparently having nothing further to say, he looked at Hannah and asked if she wanted some orange juice. She nodded enthusiastically, her eyes never moving away from the dog.

I smiled to myself and followed him into the kitchen, hoping to steal another one or two of his kisses as Hannah played with the dog in the other room.

I laughed quietly, shaking my head as I pulled a blanket over Hannah and the dog. She'd fallen asleep on Dr. Michaelis's couch, and the dog had followed her example, curling up next to her head and dozing contentedly. "Hannah fell asleep," I told Dr. Michaelis in amusement as he came into the living room carrying to steaming mugs of tea. "She's tired from playing with the dog."

I sat down on the couch at Hannah's head, still smiling. I felt really, really _happy_, for some reason. Happier than I had been in a long time. If it were possible, I would stop time right now, right here, and stay like this, with a warm sensation of contentment filling my heart, for the rest of forever.

"Here," Dr. Michaelis said, pressing the smaller of the two mugs he held into my hands. He looked at my little sister and his dog and shook his head, smiling.

I took a sip of the coffee and flinched when the scalding liquid hit my tongue. I swallowed it and felt my throat blister. Brilliant. "Thank you, Doctor," I said, ignoring the way my tongue felt like I had set it on fire. "Hannah looked like she had a lot of fun."

He looked me in the eyes. Those red eyes were so enchanting, and I felt like I was melting in them every time he looked at me. "What about you?" he asked. I noticed he had a silver chain around his neck. Super sexy.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I blushed and tore my eyes off of him, staring down at the foam swirling at the top of my mug of tea. "I just tagged along," I mumbled, forcing myself to keep staring at anything but him, an effort that was failing. It was like there was some sort of magnetism between my eyes and his body. "Since Hannah insisted on coming…"

He smiled in a sort of seductive way as he set his mug down on the coffee table and lifted his right hand, curling in his pointer finger, beckoning me closer. "Huh?" I whispered. I didn't move, but stared at him as he sighed, realizing I wouldn't comply, and leaned in.

"Even with this?" he said softly, his lips brushing my forehead. He lifted his hands, which were still warm from holding his steaming mug of tea, to my cheeks, and kissed the top of my head. Slowly, he lowered his face so that he could press his lips against mine. I shut my eyes. _Doctor…_

We had never gone further than this. These kisses. Never any more than lips against lips. He had never made an attempt to pry my lips open with his tongue and kiss me like in the movies, passionately, and I hadn't been brave enough to try. He never French kissed me and I never tried to French kiss him. This was all there was. I felt a sudden twinge of discomfort in my gut as I wondered if this was all there would ever be.

When he pulled away, I was blushing so furiously I was sure my face was the color of a ripe tomato. "You're so unfair," I whispered, refusing to open my eyes. I didn't want to see him at the moment. If his eyes met mine, I would melt again.

"How so?" he asked, resting his forehead against mine. I could hear that same smile on his lips, the one that I used to find despicable but had slowly become addicted to. I loved that smile. I didn't want to miss it.

I opened my eyes. His calm, confident expression was so beautiful. And so unsettling. _Just like that…He's the only one with a cool expression._ My heart twisted, or it felt like it. I was still happy, but now I was worried as well. I wanted there to be more. I didn't want everything, not right away, but I would have liked it all _someday_. And I know I sound like every other virgin since the beginning of time, but it's completely true. I want his kisses like they are now, but I want him to French kiss me, too. And someday, if I truly love him and in some miraculous way, he loves me too, I want to marry him, and then I want all of him.

The doorbell rang, startling me back into my reality. I pushed Dr. Michaelis away from me and he sat down next to me, looking like he wanted to kiss me again. "So… someone's at the door," I said dumbly. And the prize for stating the obvious goes to Emmeline. "I'll go see who it is," I offered as the person waiting at the door started knocking impatiently. I jumped off the couch and ran to the door, making my escape and being productive all at once. I wanted him to kiss me…but at the moment, I wasn't sure I could handle another one. I was just feeling too anxious.

I opened the door and my eyes almost popped out of my head. The girl standing there looked like a flipping _angel_. She was shorter than I was, and much thinner. But she was sophisticated, and so much prettier than me it made my gut wrench in an almost painful way. He long blond hair was elaborately curled and pulled into two ponytails hanging loosely on either side of her neck, and her skin was perfect, only making her blue eyes look even brighter and more striking. She was wearing a bright pink sweater dress and leggings, with platform shoes that made her almost as tall as me. In her hand was a shopping bag from PetSmart.

She looked at me like I had leprosy or something. Well, I hadn't thought I looked _that_ bad…until I saw her. In comparison to this beauty…yeah, I looked bad. "Who are you?" she asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow at me.

It was a miracle that I remembered how to speak. But first I had to remind myself that one cannot talk with her mouth hanging open like mine was. "_Me_?" I asked feebly, not sure what else I could say. "Who are _you_?"

Her expression turned into one that can only be described as condescending. Either that or she was wondering if I was crazy. "I'm the doctor's fiancée," she said like it was completely obvious. Then she pushed past me into the apartment like she had a complete right to be there.

I think I had a heart attack. Seriously, it was going to explode. "What?" I exclaimed, following her into the living room. "_What_?" It was the only thing I could think of to say. It was either that or start screaming at Dr. Michaelis because he never told me he was freaking engaged, putting to use my entire vocabulary of cuss words, but I decided that since Hannah was here that was probably not the best course of action to take.

The girl beamed when she saw Dr. Michaelis sitting on his couch. "Doctor, I brought snacks for Chuckie!" she called in a sing-song voice before beginning to call the dog's name repeatedly.

The dog twitched when he heard his name, saw the girl and leapt of the couch, his tail wagging so fast as he ran towards her it was almost a blur. "Chuckie!" she beamed, kneeling down to vigorously scratch his ears. At least someone looked happy in this room. I meanwhile, was really just trying to refrain from screaming _WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? _And the dog was familiar with her?

But the one thing dominating my thoughts, as it should have been, was the absolute horror that DR. MICHAELIS WAS FREAKING ENGAGED. ENGAGED! As in, he was going to get married to this woman, have kids, live happily ever after!

And I would never, ever get over him as long as I lived.

Dr. Michaelis watched the girl as she rubbed the dog's belly. His expression was entirely neutral. "Chelsea," he said blankly, glancing from her to me, but looking entirely unconcerned.

Of course this blonde goddess had a perfect, bouncy name like Chelsea. Of _course _it was. Not like my name, which was long and that nobody could spell without getting it wrong. Why couldn't my parents just have named me Emma and left it at that? That name is cute, at least.

I couldn't take it anymore. If I didn't get an answer, even if it was an answer I didn't want to hear right this second, I was going to explode. "Doctor!" I burst out. I had his attention now. Good. "Is it true that she's really your fiancée?"

Hannah startled awake at my yell and sat up, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. I was going to kill Dr. Michaelis for making Hannah see my angry side. She didn't deserve that, what with her fragile feelings.

He watched as Chelsea gave the dog a bone, and then as she crossed the room, plopping down on the couch next to him. Without looking at me, he said blandly, "I guess that's how it is."

Chelsea snuggled into him, looking entirely content. Words cannot describe how much I wanted to punch her into next week and take her place. "Right!" she nodded, sighing like she would never be happier than she was then. Something I had felt not ten minutes ago before this entire debacle began.

Words failed me. There was nothing more I had to say to Dr. Michaelis, if this was the way things were. I felt like everything that we had done together in the past two months was all a lie. "Hannah!" I said sharply, scooping her up in my arms and stalking to the door. "We're going home. Now."

She squirmed in my arms, trying to protest. She wanted to play with the dog some more. It was the first time I had ever denied her anything, and it made me feel like a horrible person as she started crying in the hall. But I just couldn't stay in that apartment a second longer.

If I had thought everything was falling apart two months ago, I had been hideously wrong. I had never felt worse than I did now. I carried her down the hall to Mark's place and rang the doorbell repeatedly, praying to the powers that be that he would be home and not have his girlfriend with him.

Mark opened the door. "Oh, hey," he said, looking surprised. "What are you two doing here?" Hannah stopped crying immediately at the sight of her big brother and reached for him.

I shoved Hannah into his arms, something I feel a little guilty about now, and stormed into his apartment. "Move, Mark!" I growled, stalking into his kitchen and retrieving a crystal glass before heading into his living room. I plopped myself down next to the wall and pressed the glass against it before placing my ear on top of that, trying to filter the sound from next door. I couldn't hear a damned thing.

Mark came into the living room with Hannah close behind. He paused when he saw me and crossed his arms. "What is your older sister doing, Hannah?" he asked, crossing his arms and looking puzzled. "Did something happen at the neighbor's?"

"Shut up!" I hissed, straining to hear something, anything. "I can't hear!" Dr. Michaelis was engaged, going to be married. I wanted to know what excuse he was going to make up for his fiancée to hear about me, the strange girl in his apartment.

Hannah was confused as well, but at least she knew more of what was going on than Mark did. I let her explain. "When we went to Dr. Michaelis's house, Chuckie was there," she explained. Mark only looked even more baffled. Of course. He had no idea who Chuckie was. "And then some girl came in. She said she was the doctor's fee-on-see," she finished, botching the last word.

However, I could tell from Mark's expression that he totally understood what she meant. As a matter of fact, it was sort of frightening. "_Fiancée_?" he yelled, looking ready to murder something. "I thought you were going out with Dr. Michaelis! Are you being played with? That _jerk_!"

I dropped the glass and rammed into him since he looked like he was about to make his way for the door. "Stop it, Mark!" I begged, blinking back tears. This is why I loved him – as a brother, of course, a point I'd been stressing ever since Dr. Michaelis told me it wasn't love at all. Mark was so protective and sweet.

"Let me go!" Mark yelled at me, trying to wrench his arm out of my grasp. I gritted my teeth and held on tighter. Hannah, thinking this was some sort of a game, grinned and latched herself onto Mark's leg.

"It's really not true!" I said pleadingly, vigorously rubbing tears out of my eyes. "We aren't going out and I'm not being played with!" I'm not even sure if I believed that, but at least it convinced Mark. He stopped trying to get me to let go of him and stood limply, staring at the door. "There was nothing between us to begin with," I said shakily, wishing with all my heart that that were true. "Sorry for making you worried."

Oh, god. Why did I have to have an epiphany now? I didn't want to think any further on Dr. Michaelis than I already had. He was all I'd been thinking about for the last two months. But he was getting _married_. Thinking about him any more would only make things drastically worse. But I couldn't help it. _He never even told me that he liked me_, I realized, and had to blink back a fresh wave of tears. _But his kisses…they were always so gentle…_

I hated hospitals now more than ever. Not only was everything that I've stated prior to this mess still true, but now I had an awful feeling in my gut from knowing I'd have to see Dr. Michaelis again. And I didn't want to. I never wanted to see him again. But…more than that, I wanted Hannah to not be sick. And she'd been crying about a headache all last night and all day today.

Dr. Michaelis was sitting at the desk in the exam room that the nurse led Hannah and me into, scribbling who knows what on a clipboard. Without waiting for him to ask, I said blankly, "She's saying that her head's been hurting since yesterday."

"Then please sit her down there," he replied, very straightforward, indicating the exam table before he dropped his pen and turned his chair towards us, and I gasped. It was infuriating that I still cared about this guy, but when I saw the bandage taped to his cheek my hand flew to my mouth. "What _happened_, Doctor? Your face—!"

"I was attacked by the neighbor's big Doberman," Dr. Michaelis said easily, smirking at my horrified expression. "Please don't worry about it." He chuckled as he took the stethoscope around his neck off and stuck it in his ears. I set Hannah down on the table and she hunched over, her arms across her stomach.

Damn it! Mark hadn't been able to let it rest, had he? He had probably gone next door and clocked Dr. Michaelis as soon as Hannah and I left. It was sweet, in a roundabout sort of way, but I was going to give him Hell for that as soon as I saw him next.

Dr. Michaelis looked at Hannah for a moment, looking contemplative. "More importantly…you say your head hurts, but you're holding your stomach," he said to her, a smile creeping across his lips. Her eyes widened and shone with fresh tears as he asked he quietly, "Are you faking?"

I startled, completely amazed and shocked and angry at the same time. She didn't. She wouldn't. Hannah? Hannah was the sweetest, most innocent person I'd ever met in my life. She was faking being sick? "What?" I exclaimed, blushing furiously. Once again, my younger sister was a source of embarrassment for me.

Hannah started shaking and tears fell from her eyes as she whispered pitifully, "Because…because it's Doctor's fault. It's Doctor's fault that Emma is so sad."

Oh, god. If that wasn't the sweetest thing Hannah had ever done for me, I don't know what was. She loved me that much. I didn't realize that everything I felt for her, how I couldn't stand it when she was sad or hurting, applied to her feelings towards me as well. Six years old and already knowing exactly what love is. _Hannah…_

The nurse in the room turned on me, obviously figuring that I had spearheaded this little event. "The hospital isn't a place where you can fool around, Emmeline!" she chastised me, looking annoyed that I was wasting her time. "The doctor's busy too, you know!"

I flinched. Her harsh tone reminded me of the way my mother used to talk to me, and it hurt just as bad now as then. "I'm sorry," I apologized feebly, knowing there was nothing more I could say, no excuses I could make. It was what it was. Who else would believe that the six year-old girl had faked an illness on her older sister's behalf of her own accord?

"Illness isn't only the body hurting. Pain isn't only physical," Dr. Michaelis spoke up, surprising both myself and the nurse who was scolding me. We turned to him at the same time, and it was almost comical the way our faces mirrored each other's shock. Dr. Michaelis was smiling and had his hand on Hannah's head affectionately. "This child was feeling pain in her chest, and she came to see me. So, I think I have the right to look at this child."

He was smiling at me. Why did he have to smile at me like that? Every smile only made me more addicted, and I wasn't allowed to be addicted. He was getting married. He was taken. Why was he still smiling at me after everything that had happened two days ago? Why couldn't he just act like I was simply one more person with a sister who was always sick?

The nurse stared at him and I watched with incredible fascination as her face turned white. Then blue. Then red. And after she had settled for red, she burst into tears. It was actually kind of funny, not that I was amused enough to laugh. That would have been just downright cruel. "You're horrible!" she yelled at Dr. Michaelis. "I said it for your sake!" She turned around and dashed out of the room, crying, "You're terrible!"

Yes, he was, wasn't he? I knew how she felt. He had made me cry, too. Lots of times. But after I started crying, once the tears started rolling down my cheeks, every time I would find myself with his arms wrapped around me…

Stop. I couldn't think about it anymore. Everything we had ever had, or not had, was over. The man was engaged. I had no claim to him anymore. Not that I had really ever had any claim to him in the first place. I couldn't believe that he had never even told me he liked me.

Dr. Michaelis sighed, resting his chin in his hands and looking very put-out, like he had been through a very long day. "Oh, shoot," he muttered, shaking his head. "I made someone cry again."

I stared at him dejectedly. Was he honestly pulling this crap? Or was he some advanced form of bipolar? "You say that, but don't you enjoy making the nurses cry?" I muttered, trying to figure out what the hell his problem was. Dr. S indeed.

He slowly lifted his gaze to mine, and as I blushed he stared at me as though he were confused. What, was I some sort of anomaly now? Emmeline Natsis, the incredible gullible fool who fell for an engaged man. I could see the headlines now. His gaze was so annoying! Anything would have been better than the way he was looking at me now! I stared at my feet and he smiled and said teasingly. "You caught me."

Utter shock. This man was the biggest puzzle I had ever come across, and he startled me and angered me and amused me all at once. I couldn't figure him out. I wasn't sure I wanted to figure him out. I just wish that he wasn't engaged… actually, to be honest, that's a horrible wish. I should wish that I had never come to like him so much. But that would be the biggest lie I ever told. So, even though what he had just done confused me, I giggled, unable to keep a straight face at his smug, playful expression.

He smiled in satisfaction and lifted himself out of his chair, advancing on me. He looked me in the eyes, and I began to melt in his red ones like I always did. Why did I have to be so attracted to him? It wasn't fair. "So, what's wrong? You have something to say, right?" he asked me, making to take my hands in his. I jerked my hands away and folded them behind my back.

What did I want to ask him? What did I have to say to him? Why did he lead me on? Why did he let me fall so far when he knew I could never have him? Why had he done everything that he had? Why was I different from his other patients (you know what I mean)? I finally settled on the question I felt I would go mad over if it were left unanswered. "Why did you kiss me?" I asked, taking a deep breath and doing my best to look stern. "And answer seriously."

"No reason," he replied smoothly, and I recoiled as though he'd slapped me. "I don't really have a reason," he continued, and smirked. I found it despicable this time, but for an entirely new reason. "I felt that I wanted kiss you. That's all there is to it."

Oh, lord. He was serious. He was completely and totally serious. What was I supposed to do with a response like that? It sure didn't make me feel any better! With a shuddery exhale, I whispered, "I…I hate that part of you, Doctor." Not trusting to say any more than that, I took Hannah's hand and pulled her out of the room, brooding. _What is up with him? I can't believe what a jerk he is! He had no reason! After stealing my kisses like that—!_

"Are you mad, Emma?" Hannah asked softly as we navigated the halls out to the parking lot. She sounded almost frightened. She was probably afraid she had gotten herself, or me, into some sort of trouble.

"Yes, I am," I told her, figuring there was no point in denying it. I couldn't have acted happy even if I wanted to. And there was no sense trying to hide it, because if I did, I just knew I'd explode. It was better to stew constantly than let it build up and explode from me, and I didn't want to take my anger out on Hannah.

She jolted when I said the words and immediately her eyes swum with apologetic tears. I could have kicked myself. Should have thought of how she would take my response before I answered her. "Ah, sorry! Not at you," I said comfortingly, and was glad when she relaxed. _It's frustrating…_I admitted to myself as we turned a corner. _Always being played around with by the doctor._

Hannah suddenly started tugging on my sleeve. "Emma!" she whispered urgently, pointing a small finger at a group of nurses and a girl in a private school uniform down the hall. "Isn't that the person…?"

I looked up and my heart skipped a beat. My gut wrenched and twisted something awful, and for a moment I felt like I was about to throw up. A lot of good that would have done me. It's just that the sight of Chelsea, Dr. Michaelis's fiancée, made me depressed and furious all at once.

One of the nurses, a smiling young blonde, said to Chelsea, "I hear you finished your freshman year, Chelsea! Are you enjoying being a sophomore? Where is it you go to school again?"

Oh, great. She was a college girl. No wonder she held such appeal for Dr. Michaelis. Especially compared to me, a high school senior with no immediate plans for college. What would I do if I left for school? Who would take care of Hannah?

Chelsea beamed. "I'm going to Ashbrook Academy, across town," she replied enthusiastically, blushing as she spoke. "And sophomore year's great so far. The teachers are all really nice, at least."

I froze. Ashbrook wasn't a college. It was a high school for rich kids and the insanely smart that got in on scholarship. I couldn't believe she was in high school. Was she younger than me? She had to be! But she l_ooked_ so much older! This was so completely messed up!

"A high school student already," a second nurse said fondly, sounding reminiscent. "You've become so mature. I remember when you were crying and protesting against surgery when you were in elementary school. Dr. Michaelis was just an intern, and you made things really difficult for him. Saying something pretentious like you'd go through surgery if he married you." She laughed, and the other nurses around her joined in.

My mind was blown. I was older than her. And she was engaged to Dr. Michaelis because she wouldn't go through surgery unless he agreed to marry her? What kind of a person does that? Did anyone else see that we should clearly be sending her to the psychiatric ward?

"Don't laugh at me!" Chelsea said angrily, clenching her fists. The nurses' peals of laughter died down and ceased, and they were all staring at her with extreme interest. "I'm serious!" Chelsea insisted, looking like she wanted to punch someone in the face. And she thought _she_ was ticked off. "I seriously love Dr. Michaelis!"

I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. Nothing made sense anymore to me. My life was some sort of… I don't know. Some sort of bad movie. Scratch that. My life was like a freaking soap opera, one of the really horrible ones the television channels only play at three in the morning when no one is awake to watch them. I squeezed Hannah's hand and turned her around, leading her down a different hall for an elevator further away. "Hannah, let's go this way," I said thickly, knowing I wouldn't be able to pass Chelsea without having an emotional breakdown.

Hannah looked up at me in shock, and then her expression fell. "Emma?" she asked, her voice dripping with worry. A six year-old should not have that much depth to her voice. "Why are you crying?"

Oh, my gosh. I was crying, wasn't I? No wonder the world was blurry…no wonder I could feel something warm sliding down my cheeks. No wonder I was breathing in short gasps. Why was I crying? _I don't know…_ I realized, shaking my head. _My mind's a mess._

This was a stupid idea. A terrible, awful, stupid idea. I should really just stand up and go home. I should buy a journal, write down everything I ever felt for Dr. Michaelis and ever wanted to say to him, tear it up, and throw the pieces in the fire. I should be busy getting over him, not sitting on the edge of the brick wall in front of his apartment building with my knees curled into my chest as I waited for him to come home. But I just…

Footsteps. This may be it. I just needed to stand up, exuding confidence, and ask him everything I needed to. I needed closure, and this was the easiest way to get there…or so I told myself. I looked up, emotionally preparing myself to speak to Dr. Michaelis – but was greeted with the hostile expression on Chelsea's face instead.

She had recognized me. "You're the girl who was in Dr. Michaelis's room!" she said accusingly, taking a defensive stance. "What do you want, coming to his apartment?"

I didn't have an answer for her. I just… I just wanted to see him. "I don't know," I said, shrugging while I brushed a flyaway strand of hair out of my face. I was pleased to hear the lack of concern in my voice. I hoped it would throw her off real good. "I just wanted to see him."

"Huh?" Chelsea's eyes narrowed and she looked at me like I was a home-wrecking whore. What was up with this chick? She did realize that I was taller, older, stronger, and (most likely) smarter than her, didn't she? What hope would she have if she chose to fight me? "Are you a stalker?" she asked shrilly, taking a step back from me. Yes, honey. Be afraid of me.

It took all my willpower to refrain from informing her that she was the one who was truly acting like a stalker. And I still didn't have an answer to the question presented. Why was I here? It was…it was just because I wanted to see him. By the time I realized what I was doing, I was here. I…just wanted to see him. There is no reason.

There is no reason. I gasped as the realization hit me, and Dr. Michaelis's words echoed in my head. _"I don't really have a reason. I felt that I wanted kiss you. That's all there is to it."_ I couldn't believe I'd been such an idiot! Maybe…maybe Dr. Michaelis felt the same way!

"The doctor said that you were bothering him!" Chelsea informed me indignantly. The way she smirked after she said it made me realize that she wanted nothing more than to crush my feelings and leave her and Dr. Michaelis alone to live her happily ever after little schoolgirl dream. I was damned if I was going to let that happen now.

And I almost murdered her for speaking to me like that, in that harsh, caustic tone that my mother always used to use with me, before the impact of her words hit me. I was bothering him? Was that the truth, or was it just something he had told her as an excuse for why I was in his apartment? I stood up on the wall, towering over her, and yelled, "The doctor wouldn't say something like that!"

She flinched, and I reveled in the way I'd made her feel. I'd scared her. Maybe I shouldn't have been proud of that, but I was, and damn, did it feel good. She stared ahead, looking at nothing in particular, and then whispered, "I love Dr. Michaelis. I've always, always loved him. I worked hard to look mature, so that I would look good with him. I'm also going to study really hard so that I can become a nurse and work next to him."

Oh, god. She had it all planned out, and I didn't even know where to start. Every time I thought of Dr. Michaelis, I didn't think about a future we could have together. It was always what was happening now, with me. How good it felt when he was kissing me _now_, how safe I felt when he was holding me _now_…and how awful I felt when he was breaking my heart _now_. I could feel how serious she was. She was so serious about Dr. Michaelis that it hurt.

Before I knew what I was doing, I got down from the wall. I was still so much taller than her, which was to my advantage. I wanted her intimidated. "I hate Dr. Michaelis," I said seriously, satisfied when her eyes widened. "He's mean and he has a bad personality. He uses people as he pleases." And it was all true. A part of me did hate him. But that didn't matter, because the other parts all wanted him more than anything else in the world. So, even with all the bad things that came with him… "Even so," I whispered, rubbing the tears welling in my eyes away. "I know his kind side, too. So…"

I let the word hang in the air, wanting to know what Chelsea would do now that she knew that I was just as serious about Dr. Michaelis as she was. She looked frightened for a moment, and then her expression twisted with anger and resentment. "So?"

That was the last straw. Maybe she knew just how badly it stung every time she opened her mouth to say something in that awful tone I'd heard constantly from my mother, who I still resented for it. Maybe she didn't. Even so, I was about to rip this girl's head off. "So, I _will_ fight you for him!" I screamed at her, wanting to make sure the message got through loud and clear in that pretty little head of hers.

I don't know if I felt satisfied or guilty or what when her eyes began to swim with tears. Maybe I just didn't care enough to feel anything for her. But she took a step away from me as though terrified and whispered, "_What_?"

I hadn't heard the footsteps behind me. The first thing that announced Dr. Michaelis's presence to me was his voice, very close to me, from behind my right shoulder. "Wow – you'll fight for me?"

I nearly screamed, I was so startled. I whirled around, ready to face Dr. Michaelis and all the embarrassment that came with it, but instead found myself pulled into his arms and his lips pressed over mine. I couldn't make any sense of what he was doing. His fiancée was standing _right there_, for god's sake! But god, it was good to feel his arms around me again, and his lips against mine…

When he pulled his face away from my own, he didn't let go of me. He looked up at Chelsea and smiled condescendingly, and with all the nonchalance one would have when speaking of the weather asked her, "Didn't I tell you to give up?"

Chelsea stared at us with wide, hurt eyes for a long moment before she burst into tears. "I don't want to!" she sobbed, stomping her foot in anger. I thought people only did that in movies. "I'll never give up!" she cried, turning around and racing off, her choked sobs echoing down the street. "You're such a jerk!" I didn't know if she was talking to me or him. Even so, I blushed like crazy when I realized what was going on.

Dr. Michaelis pulled me into him tighter and made to kiss me again. He looked almost happy at the moment. He'd just made a girl cry, after all. "You see…" he began. "What I meant by 'engagement' was-"

"Doctor!" I interrupted him, wriggling out of his arms and staring at him sternly, proudly realizing that I was surrounded by an air of confidence. My little tiff with Chelsea had given me the emotional boost I needed. "Unless you don't feel like you _like_ me, don't make excuses!"

Dr. Michaelis looked at me with surprised eyes for all of a fraction of a second, and then smiled. "She was a patient from the past," he explained, sounding completely unconcerned. "Marriage was just a way to get her to go through surgery. Are you convinced now?"

Lord help me, I was. And there was something more than that, too. I couldn't take it anymore. I shot forward, directly into his arms, and just like in the movies, he caught me and spun me around. "Damn it…" I whispered, resting my head on his shoulder as I clung to his jacket. "It makes me frustrated, but…I love you."

His muscles tensed when I said the words, and satisfied with his reaction and utterly shocked expression, I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Doctor, from now on… make sure I'm the only girl you kiss, okay?" I murmured, returning to my normal height and taking a step away from him. "Good night, then."

I turned and began to walk away, smiling to myself. I had finally said what I needed to say and had all the answers I wanted. And, because I was frustrated, I left one mark that he couldn't be rid of easily. I had told him that I loved him… that wouldn't be something he would soon forget.

Behind me, I heard Dr. Michaelis laugh softly. "You got me." And as if that hadn't made me happy enough, the next thing I knew he was sweeping me up into his arms and French kissing me. It was the best freaking night of my life.

"Doctor!" Hannah chimed a few days later at Dr. Michaelis's apartment. I had just picked her up from school and we had gone over to his place, since Mark was working. Dr. Michaelis was sprawled out on his couch, demonstrating extreme patience as he let Hannah crawl all over him. I sat on the floor next to his head, doing my assigned reading for English class. "If you want, I don't mind if you marry me," Hannah giggled, bold as ever.

Dr. Michaelis laughed and tousled her hair affectionately before throwing an amused glance my way. "You don't, huh? Well, you'll have to ask Emma about that," he said. Humoring her, as always.

I rolled my eyes and tried to concentrate on my reading, which was near impossible with these two getting on my nerves. "The answer is _no_!" I grumbled, wondering why Dr. Michaelis was trying to irritate me.

_You know, even after everything that's happened…Dr. Michaelis is still a mean doctor,_ I thought to myself with a heavy sigh. Maybe some things will never change. But it's still one of the things I like about him.

"Emmeline," Dr. Michaelis said from above my head, and I looked up. Before I could ask what he wanted, his lips were pressed against mine. So perfect. Everything was just so perfect.

It looks like I'll be going through a lot.

**And so ends the adventures of Emmeline and Dr. Michaelis...for now. I don't know if I want to add any more, it's so cute the way it is...but if any of you out there, dear readers, would like them to star in another adventure, post your ideas in reviews or message me. I think they're a really fun pair! Thanks for reading and I love you all!**


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